Second dose of measles-containing vaccine coverage and associated factors among children aged 24-36 months in Gondar city, Central Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, 2023.

Background: Measles caused 207,000 deaths worldwide in 2019. Ethiopia ranks among the top 10 countries in the world with the highest number of measles cases. However, the coverage of the second dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV2) remains low. To increase coverage, the government of Ethiopia launched a nationwide measles vaccination campaign. Despite this intervention, the coverage is still below target, and there is scarce information in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to assess MCV2 coverage and associated factors among children aged 24-36 months in Gondar city, Central Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, 2023. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 621 children aged 24-36 months using a systematic random sampling technique from 25 April to 25 May. A pre-tested, interviewer-administered, and structured questionnaire was used and collected using Kobo Toolbox and then transferred to Stata version 17 for further analysis. The binary logistic regression model was used to identify factors, and the presence of an association was declared using a p-value of <0.05. Similarly, an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was used to interpret the direction and strength of an association. Results: A total of 621 children, with a response rate of 98.1%, participated in the study. The coverage of the second dose of MCV was 75.68% (95% CI: 72.1-78.9). The following factors were significantly associated with measles-containing vaccine second dose (MCV2) coverage: father as the household head (AOR: 3.06, 95% CI: 1.43-6.44), first birth order (AOR: 4.45, 95% CI: 1.21-16.3), four and above antenatal care (ANC) follow-ups (AOR: 5.18, 95% CI:1.62-16.5), postnatal care (PNC) service utilization (AOR: 2.57, 95% CI:1.27-5.15), at least two doses of vitamin A uptake (AOR: 6.39, 95% CI: 2.67-15.2), mothers having high awareness (AOR: 1.97, 95% CI:1.15-3.4), and good perception (AOR: 3.6, 95% CI: 2-6.47) about measles vaccination. Conclusion and recommendations: The coverage of MCV2 in the study area is lower than the national and global target of above 95%. Head of household, birth order, ANC follow-up, PNC service utilization, vitamin A uptake, awareness, and perception of mothers about measles vaccination were significant factors for MCV2 coverage. Creating awareness, increasing the perception of mothers about measles vaccination, and strengthening the ANC and PNC services will increase the coverage.

Delay for Tuberculosis Treatment and Its Predictors among Adult Tuberculosis Patients at Debremarkos Town Public Health Facilities, North West Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Delay in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis exacerbates the disease and clinical outcomes. It further enhances transmission of the infection in the society as well as increased the severity of the illness and raised rate of mortality. OBJECTIVES: The major goal of this study is to determine the magnitude of delays in tuberculosis treatment and factors affecting tuberculosis treatment among adult tuberculosis patients at Debremarkos town, North West Ethiopia, 2018. METHODS: Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed. Systematically selected 300 adult TB patients were recruited to the study. The study was conducted at Debremarkos town public health facilities from March 1 to April 30, 2018. Logistic regression models were fitted to identify the predicting variables and control confounder's of the outcome variables. P value ≤ 0.05 with 95% CI was considered as an indicator for the presence of statistically significant association. The result revealed that the median total delay was 23 days (IQR: 19-28 days). The median patient and health system delays were 20 days (IQR: 15-20 days) and 4 days (IQR: 3-5 days), respectively. Tuberculosis patients living in a rural area were 1.14 times more likely to delay for the TB treatment (AOR: 1.141, 95% CI (1.106, 2.608)). Patients who were unable to read and write have almost two times a chance of being delayed (AOR: 2.350, 95% CI (1.630, 2.608)). Monthly income of patients has found another predictor for delay; patients with low monthly income were about six times more likely to delay for TB treatment (AOR: 6.375, 95% CI: (1.733, 23.440)). Those TB patients who had visiting traditional healers before arrival to health facilities were about 2.7 times more likely to delay for TB treatment(AOR: 2.795, 95% CI (1.898, 8.693)). Conclusion and Recommendation. The significant proportion of delays in tuberculosis treatment was found in this study. Living in the rural area, unable to read and write, lower monthly income, and visiting traditional healers were found independent predictors of TB treatment delay. The regional and zonal health administrator shall design various awareness creation mechanisms to educate the public about timely initiation of tuberculosis treatment.

The Prevalence of HIV-Positive Infants Born to HIV-Positive Mothers Attended at the University of Gondar Specialized Hospital Anti-Retroviral Therapy Services, Northwest Ethiopia, 2018.

INTRODUCTION: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the human immune cells and affects their function. It is the highest burden that occurs in a developing country. Ethiopia is one of the top ten countries in the world, which has a high burden of HIV-infected children. Even if the country works hard on the PMCT program, still there is challenging on MTCT reduction. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of HIV-positive infants born to HIV-positive mothers attending anti-retroviral treatment (ART) services at the University of Gondar specialized hospital, Gondar, northwest Ethiopia, 2018. METHODS: A retrospective chart review study was conducted from February to April 2018, among HIV-exposed infants who born to HIV-positive mothers in ART service at the University of Gondar specialized hospital. A systematic sampling method was applied to select study participants. Data were entered into EPI info version 7 statistical software and transferred to SPSS version 20 for analysis. RESULTS: In this study, 239 participants were enrolled, with a 98.8% response rate. The prevalence of HIV-positive infants born to HIV-positive mothers was 5.5% with a 95% CI (3.0-8.5%). Of the mothers, 77.1% were within 25-35 years of age range. Of the total infants, 56.8% were males. From these HIV-positive infants, 13 (5.5%) were born from age ranges of 25-35years old mothers, 9(3.8%) were females, 8(3.4%) were 6-11 months old, 13 (5.5%) were post-term gestation, and 13 (5.5%) were maternal CD4+ less than 350/mm3. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The prevalence of HIV-positive infants born to HIV-positive mothers in this study was lower than the previous 10.2%. To reduce such infant HIV infection to zero, it needs proactive action from stakeholders, health professionals, and the community at large.